Hello all, this is my fisrt post of what I am sure will be many so a big hello to 'yall!

Just a question about which TEFL/TESOL course I should do!

I am employed full time at the moment so I have a real issue with time. I am looking to do a weekend TEFL course (20 hrs) and then the additional part II weekend to make up 40 hours in total - although I am also considering undertaking an intensive 4 week course.

Of course the 4 week option wuld give a much better range of benefits and is much more comprehensive but it would involve leaving my job - which admittedly I will be doing shortly anyway - but I would like to stay working in order to save and then go away!

Have you considered the possibility of training online? Online courses are a good option particularly if you have other work and/or family commitments that restrict the amount of time you have available to study. You can find good online courses that provide quality training and allow you to work at your own pace. Having no deadlines but those which you set for yourself is a great advantage. Working on a course with a flexible schedule where your personal tutor can be contacted 24/7 or your coursework can be submitted whenever ready has allowed many of our students – teachers to complete successfully their TESL/TEFL Certificate course, further their knowledge and gain better prospects of employment.

Moreover you can aim at a certificate with a higher number of hrs, like the ICAL 100hrs TESL/TEFL Certificate. It's worth considering!

Sorry Pete, but without actual teaching practice in front of real students, online courses fall flat. If you do decide to take an online course, it has to have a component of actual teaching practice. You wouldn't go to an online swimming class. Teaching is the same.

The feedback we have received from our ICAL graduates over the years and the standing ICAL courses have gained in the ELT market not to mention the jobs that our graduates have been able to land thanks to their ICAL Certificate go to show that a practicum is not the “be and end all” in a quality training course at entry level. Online courses at entry level can provide a thorough grounding in a new career and the right tools to approach a new profession. A quality course like ours offers a good base which you can build on, if required. After all you do need to learn how to walk, before you can run!

Check out the KEI - TEFL training program as well. It is online and customized to meet the needs of educators currently working who need additional training. If you want more details PM me, or just follow the link in the signature line. The course has options for getting the OTP (Observed Teacher Practice) that many programs promote as being valuable to the process.

online courses that have those teaching practice added into it sound cool and all, but I'm a classroom kind of guy, I'm slow that way, but it really does cover a lot of stuff that I really normally wouldn't be able to grasp if I did it in from if my computer.

trainee to trainee interaction is great as well and adds to the experience of it all.

I suggest something like what I did last year.Took a course that offered a guaranteed work afterwards.Money-wise it's was pretty cheap and off-to-work-wise, you got a job afterwards and it was pretty easy after that heist.